


Sophia's Third Birthday

by Tamasha



Series: The Parties of Our Lives [8]
Category: Merlin (TV), Robin Hood (BBC 2006)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Birthday Party, Boys' Love, Butts, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fatherhood, Fluff, Frozen (2013) References, Gay, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Kissing, Love, M/M, Magic Tricks, Marriage, Modern Era, Professors, Relationship(s), Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 03:47:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4420025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin and Arthur have been married for a while, and today they celebrate the third birthday of their daughter Sophia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sophia's Third Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> written by Tamara and Natasha

Arthur was bound to be unhappy with any three-year-old’s birthday party Merlin would have thrown. He knew that no matter what he did, Arthur would have a problem with it - well, several - so Merlin decided to throw the party that he knew Sophia would love. That consisted of unicorns, My Little Pony, and lots and lots of rainbows.

Arthur hated rainbows; Merlin was crazy about them. To the latter, they were a symbol of pride, but to Arthur, they were a stereotype he did not want to be associated with. The whole gay pride thing had always been a touchy, if not confusing, topic of debate between them. Arthur was proud of his sexuality, his husband, and who he was, but the last thing he wanted to be paired with was the gay community. He didn't understand it, said it was a group of people fighting for something that was more about gaining specific rights when they should just teach people to treat people like people. Merlin understood and agreed, but he didn’t see the harm in fighting for specific rights that were still deprived to many. But Arthur had always been a little difficult to understand. That’s why Merlin adored him.

When Merlin started planning Sophia’s birthday party, Arthur had wanted to take part. Despite his lack of interest in other people’s kids, he wanted to be involved in every aspect of his own kids' lives. So when they had started to plan Sophia’s third birthday, naturally, Arthur asked questions. Too many questions. It wasn’t that Merlin didn’t want the help - he could really use it - but Arthur complained a lot. “Why does it have to be pink?” Arthur had asked as Merlin was cutting out the horse shaped invitations.

“She’s a three year old girl.”

Arthur scoffed. “So? What does the color pink have to do with that? Let’s ask her what her favorite color is.”

“I did, Arthur; it’s pink. Girls like pink. It’s okay.”

There had been a lot of conversations like this during the initial planning and soon it became too much. Merlin had to push Arthur off the campaign.

“You’re fired!” Merlin shouted in mock irritation; well, maybe not entirely mock.

“You can’t fire me!” But it wasn’t long before Arthur gave in. He had a lot of work to catch up on, and Merlin did have the free time to dedicate to this party. So Merlin finished the planning solo and managed to keep most of it from Arthur the whole time. When Arthur arrived to the park that afternoon - rainbow balloons and My Little Pony decorations sprawled out over the picnic benches - he was, unsurprisingly, a bit taken aback.

 

\-------------

 

It was so obvious which area of the park Merlin had set up in that Arthur immediately wanted to turn back. There were balloons, brightly colored table cloths, a modest (so far) pile of presents, and a collection of rainbow cupcakes. "Dad?" Sophia looked up at him with wide eyes. "Is that my party?"

Arthur let out a sort of strangled noise, not quite laughing, but not quite derisive. "Yes, angel. I suppose it is." She let her jaw drop comically and then inched her hand out of his so that she could run to see the decorations, shouting, "Daddy, Daddy!" as she ran. Arthur watched to make sure Merlin received her, but followed at a more sedate pace.

Pascua, at five years old, did not care much for girly things like ponies, as he professed, but he followed Sophia to meet Merlin. Tala, of course, just kicked her fat, brown legs in his grasp and made a grunting noise, as babies will. Arthur arrived on the edge of the fray and paused to observe. Only Lance and his very pregnant wife Gwen had arrived yet, and they were helping Merlin set out the snacks and organize frilly treat bags. Sophia had already gone to greet Tom, Lance's kid, and Pascua stood watching Merlin.

Arthur took a deep breath and walked to his husband's side. "Merlin," he greeted quietly. "How many kids are going to be here?" Even he heard the edge in his voice. The extravagance of the party was a little overwhelming in itself, but there was also a lot of everything. Arthur wasn’t exactly excited to spend the afternoon with dozens of screaming toddlers.

"I invited everyone in her preschool class, and just a few friends. And the family, of course. It won't be so bad." Arthur scanned the area and shifted Tala on his hip, almost like a shield.

"Right," he muttered, and readied himself, trying to remember that this was for Sophia, even if she wouldn’t have known the difference if there had been only one friend and a leisurely play date in their home.

 

\-------------

 

Merlin knew it would be a struggle to get Arthur to smile today, but the frown he wore actually upset Merlin. Then, Arthur turned to Tala, gave her the wide grin he always gave her, and called her the endearing nickname he had given her when they first met their daughter 9 months ago: Pudge. This made Merlin hum in contentment and move to his blond husband.

“Thanks for keeping them busy while I set up.” Merlin nudged Arthur’s shoulder with his nose and added, “I love you.”

Arthur rolled his eyes at the scenery before him and concluded, “I love you too, but don’t you think this is a bit much?”

“Nope,” Merlin piped energetically, “You don’t get to be Debbie Downer today. You and Marian can pout, but you're not allowed to complain.” Marian was one of the mothers in Sophia’s preschool class. She was so similar to Arthur, it was uncanny. Merlin could see both of them finding any number of things to complain about today. Though, Marian was too polite to vocalize it. Robin, her husband, would no doubt bring her out of her pout the way Merlin intended to bring Arthur out of his. He only decided to be miserable, Merlin concluded. Arthur didn’t really hate this whole married-with-three-kids deal as much as it may have looked to an outsider. And neither did Marian, Merlin guessed.

Gwen and Lance finished setting up the gift bags and joined the group. “This looks so lovely, Merlin. You did well.”

“Thanks.” Merlin blushed. “I had some free time lately.” Arthur took Tala and moved to the snacks station. “No eating till the guests arrive!” Merlin barked, but Arthur had already popped a grape into his mouth.

“Sowy,” Arthur croaked through the fruit.

Merlin had to chuckle at the sight of his husband holding their chubby filipina child with a grape in his mouth, looking back at him with a guilty expression. Pascua took this opportunity to pull on Merlin’s pant leg. “Daddy, when I kicked the soccer ball, it went waaay up in the sky.” Sometimes a bit off-topic, Pascua’s stories were always a delight, and despite him not being his biological son, Merlin believed that he had gotten that trait from him.

“I believe it,” Merlin offered, not understanding his son’s sudden desire to share this with his Daddy.

That’s when Morgana, Arthur’s sister, called out to them, holding a platter of… something. Probably some exotic food Merlin had never heard of. “Brother Dear,” she said across the lawn. “Come help your sister. These heels were not meant for grass.”

“Why did you wear heels, Morgana?” Arthur whined as he obeyed his elder sister.

Morgana handed Arthur the tray while Arthur gracefully balanced the food and the child in his arms. Tala had her usual grumpy pout on her face the whole time. She got that from her Dad, Merlin considered, while Arthur held the exact same look upon his own face. Definitely.

Mordred trailed behind Morgana’s boyfriend and his father, Leon. The tall, lean man shuffled his feet as he followed Morgana to the gathering. “Hello, friends,” he shouted with much more excitement than his almost-wife-because-why-couldn’t-they-just-admit-they-were-married-practically, Morgana, could ever muster.

“Happy birthday, Sophia,” Mordred pouted. The nine year old wore nearly all black, which was a bit depressing for a nine year old, but he definitely took after his mother in a lot more ways than his ebony black hair. “Kay, I said it, do I have to talk any more?”

“You are set free.” Leon gestured with a wink. “Go find a corner to sulk in and I’ll call you when it’s time to leave.”

“He can join the sulking party over there with the grapes,” Merlin laughed as Arthur was caught stealing another fruit. “I said no touching, Professor,” Merlin called after his husband, not taking his eyes off of Leon.

Arthur groaned, “But people are here. Plus, how did you see that? You have eyes like a falcon.”

 

\-------------

 

Guests had begun to arrive and the tables were swarming with children. Sophia’s friends were young enough that the parents all stayed, but Arthur had no interest in approaching most of the adult men and women around him. They would have no apparent commonality to serve as subject matter besides their children, so they would talk about potty training or napping schedules or some other inane topic.

Arthur didn’t mind participating in these activities with his own child, or even discussing them with Merlin, but he didn’t care to hear about anyone else's kid and he felt no need to share Sophia’s quirks with anyone else. It was irrelevant.

Luckily, there was at least one other parent here who had the same mindset as Arthur. Marian was the mother of three year old triplets as well as an older son, and though she sometimes complained about her hellish home life, she didn't care to gossip about it or even get Arthur’s input. She would much rather relax with a drink or discuss the latest game or anything else.

Right now, Arthur bounced Tala on his knee, causing her to grin and show off her two bottom teeth, while Marian sorted out a fight between two of her kids: Isabella and either Roy or Carter. Arthur honestly couldn't tell the difference between the two boys. "Carter, punching your sister is never acceptable. Isabella, don't provoke him, and you won't have a problem. Now go back and play; I don't want to hear any more about it."

The children murmured agreement and ran off, so Marian turned back to Arthur with a rueful sigh. "So, your client was doing what on Thursday?" Arthur prompted. Marian launched back into her story.

As he listened, Arthur watched Merlin flit around, greeting new arrivals, chatting with friends, spreading his attention evenly among the guests. He really was very good at this, and Arthur couldn’t deny the little bit of pride he had for his husband. Arthur could easily get everyone to quiet down and then give a lecture, but he wasn’t exactly a crowd pleaser, or even a pleasant person one-on-one. It was a wonder Merlin even put up with him. He was really no use here; he might have more easily stayed home with the baby, but of course, Sophia would have been disappointed.

"Arthur?" Marian said a little loudly. Arthur blinked and looked at her. "You're not even paying attention anymore, are you?"

Arthur shrugged sheepishly and she snorted. "Sorry, I was... thinking."

"Yeah," she said. "I noticed."

They both turned their attention to the playground as a roar sounded, followed by lots of squeals and giggling. Marian's husband, Robin, was chasing some of the children around, fingers wiggling threateningly. Robin was a childish man that Arthur didn’t really like; he had no idea what Marian saw in him. "At least he's keeping them occupied," Arthur observed. Marian wiped the fond look she was giving her husband off her face and rolled her eyes at Arthur.

A few minutes later, Merlin approached in a rush. "Arthur, would you care to join the party?" he asked, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "I am about to gather the kids for a game." He eyed Arthur until he shifted Tala's weight to stand up. Then he was off, attending to his next task.

Arthur sighed ruefully. "Duty calls," he told Marian. She half-smirked at him, but stood also and walked with him toward the main table.

 

\-------------

 

When Uther arrived Merlin instinctively tensed. To say Arthur and his father had a rocky relationship was an understatement, but since Uther got sick, the two of them had more than made up. Merlin was glad to see the grandfather of his children come to a family gathering, but he still felt uncertain about where he stood with the man. Luckily, Merlin was too busy setting up Pin the Tail on the Pony when Arthur’s father arrived. Merlin’s own dad, Balinor, was able to catch him before he could make Merlin feel any more uneasy.

Once all the small children were rounded up, Merlin began to explain the rules. He hadn’t even gotten the stickers peeled from the sheet the set came with when Sophia got distracted by her Frozen shoes that lit up when she stomped.

“Stop stomping, angel.” He was annoyed, Merlin could tell, but the “angel” Arthur had added fooled the rest of the guests.

Sophia scraped a hand over her forehead trying to push her unruly red curls out of her eyes. No matter what they tried, neither Merlin nor Arthur could control that hair. “It’s all right, love. Would you like to go first?” Merlin asked sweetly.

“Yes!” Sophia jumped to grab the sticker.

“You got this, girl!” Balinor cried from the circle of parents around the line of children waiting for their turn.

Still stomping the grass under her feet, Sophia smiled proudly. “Thanks, Papi!”

Merlin felt a pang of some mixture of jealousy and pride with his father’s words. His father hadn’t been there much for Merlin when he was young, so he still felt bitter, but he couldn’t help the happiness that overcame him while watching his daughter interact with her grandfather.

Arthur stood too far away from the action. Tala still on his hip, he frowned as each of the players tried to pin the tail on Rainbow Dash. It was becoming a bit tiring forcing Arthur to participate in his own daughter’s party. Hunith was taking pictures, even video taping parts of this, and Arthur would forever be remembered as the father who didn’t care. Of course, Merlin knew he did - he just had his own way of showing it - but his behavior was starting to get to Merlin. As Balinor paid closer attention to the action than Arthur, something in Merlin snapped. He walked over to his husband, intent on telling him how he felt when -

“I love you.” Arthur said, before Merlin could speak.

“Damn it,” Merlin huffed. “I love you too.”

Arthur smiled regretfully. “I know Merlin, I know. I am trying to engage as much as I can. Really. I’ll try harder, though.”

The softness in Merlin’s heart won him over. He couldn’t be mad for long, not at that jawline and that crooked nose. Merlin kissed his husband quickly on the cheek. “You better.”

“Get back in there, I think Little might need some help.”

After a wink Merlin turned to go be super-dad and continue to throw a party he was actually quite proud of. Before reaching out to show the two year old from Sophia’s class which direction to go, Merlin looked at Arthur one last time. He was actually grinning, a real-life genuine grin. It warmed Merlin’s heart. The prat.

 

\-------------

 

After the game, Merlin started to herd people back toward the tables to eat cupcakes (which were blue and pink confections with rainbow gummies on top, obviously). Before Arthur could get moving, though, he was nearly assaulted by Mithian and Elena.

"Look at her, Mith! She's getting so big!" Elena squealed without even a hello for Arthur. She stepped in close and squeezed Tala's thigh, earning an unimpressed look from Arthur’s youngest daughter.

Mithian stepped up to Arthur's other side. "She really is adorable, Arthur."

"Thanks," Arthur murmured to be polite, even though it was not his genes that had contributed to his daughter's looks.

"Can I hold her?" Mithian asked, already reaching out her arms.

Reluctantly, Arthur passed over the baby, knowing that she wouldn't be any happier with the new arrangement than he was. Proving him right, Tala immediately began to fuss, but Mithian bounced and shushed her. "Come on," Elena said to her girlfriend. "She will calm down once she doesn't have her daddy right there to tempt her." Then, she led Mithian by the arm to the picnic tables.

"Dad," Arthur corrected, doubting either of the women would hear him as they walked away, enamored with his daughter. He felt off balance and unprotected without her reassuring weight in his arms. With a sigh, he shook his head and strode towards Merlin.

Or tried to. Instead, he was waylaid by Djaq, which he didn’t really mind. Djaq had been one of his sociology students who was struggling with his gender identity. Arthur had been a... well, he'd go so far as to say a mentor, to Djaq and his boyfriend, Will, during that time. That had been a few years ago, and the couple had become close enough that Arthur wasn’t even surprised Merlin had invited them to Sophia’s birthday party.

Djaq clasped his arm and Arthur pulled the younger man in for a brief hug. "How have you been?"

"Good. Great, actually," Djaq said emphatically. He was smiling in a way that Arthur recognized all too well. And then he added, sotto voce, "Will proposed."

"Congratulations!" Arthur said, happy but not surprised. "Where is he, anyway?"

Djaq nodded toward the cupcakes, and Arthur found Will standing near Merlin, tuning his guitar. "Merlin got him to play guitar for the happy birthday song. This is one amazing party he threw!"

Arthur nodded absentmindedly, his gaze roaming to his husband, who was bent over and lighting candles. It really was a good party, he had to admit, even if it was not to his own taste.

He and Djaq made their way to the tables as everyone gathered close to sing. Arthur sidled past the guests and found his way to the bench where Sophia was seated. "Happy birthday, angel," he whispered, just as Will strummed the guitar. Everyone quieted and then Merlin led them in song.

Arthur mouthed the words, not actually letting any noise out, but Sophia was clever girl. "Dad," she said too loudly as she tugged on his shirt. "Sing!" A slight blush crept up his cheeks, but he ignored it and sang for his daughter. He had told Merlin he would try to participate, after all.

Keeping this in mind, he sat down next to Sophia and Pascua to watch them eat their cupcakes. He politely declined to eat one himself.

When Elena hurried to his side with a wailing Tala, he only smiled apologetically and took her in his arms. "Hey, Pudge, it's okay. Elena's a friend. You have to learn to be happy for friends." He spoke mindlessly to her and Pascua patted her head until she grinned her two-toothed grin. Sophia was chattering away to her friends when a loud thunderclap sounded and she jumped, whirling around. In fact, all eyes were quite abruptly refocused.

Arthur let a slow, satisfied grin suffuse his face. Merlin stood in a cloud of dispersing purple smoke in his full Emrys regalia. He looked just as he had when Arthur first met him at one of Morgana’s parties and though he would never admit it to his husband, Arthur secretly delighted in seeing Merlin’s magic shows. He settled in to watch.

 

\-------------

 

It had been some time since Merlin had become Emrys, his silly stage persona he had thought up in high school. The name stuck throughout his career - not that it was much of a career. Despite his embarrassing costume and ridiculous name, Merlin adored performing magic tricks at parties. Not only was it nice to hear the delighted squeals from the children - and sometimes the adults - Merlin liked watching Arthur’s face. Though his husband had seen every trick, knew every secret, he still watched in awe like he was a kid watching magic for the first time. It filled Merlin’s heart with joy. That was why he still loved to perform.

Once finished with his set, Merlin moved to Sophia first, who had never gotten over the fact that her Daddy was a magician. She made grabbing motions at his fake white beard and now-drooping pointed blue hat. "Daddy Emrys!” she cried as Merlin swooped her up.

"As my final act, I will make you three years old, young child!"

Sophia giggled. "It's me, Daddy! It's Sophia Pendragon!" Merlin chuckled out loud; he never could get over the fact that his daughter was so well versed in her last name. The rest of the party laughed and Merlin remembered he needed to change to begin presents.

Back in his tight pink buttoned shirt, Merlin rejoined the party as himself. "Did I miss anything magical?" he asked, with feigned curiosity. It was always his last joke after a performance, but it still got laughs. Even from Arthur.

Sophia took the pleasure of rounding up the guests for presents. She was at the age where she realized the mound of colorful boxes and bags held items just for her. "My present time!" she called to anyone who would listen.

"Oh my, look at all those gifts, I don’t think you can open all those!" Grandma Hunith, or Nani as she was more appropriately named by Sophia, ruffled her granddaughter's curly mop. "Would you like me to take some home for you?"

"No!" Sophia cried, with a smile on her face. She hugged Hunith's hand and pulled her Nani towards the gifts. "Can I open them?" she asked Merlin with a massive grin spread across her chubby cheeks.

"Sure, sweetie. Let's start by getting you settled." Bringing over a chair and placing his daughter dead center in front of her pile of gifts, Merlin took out a piece of paper to write down the names that corresponded with each present.

He was stopped with a familiar hand pulling the sheet of paper and pen away from him. "I'll do it, you enjoy the party," Arthur said sweetly, with Tala comfortably back on his hip.

"Thanks," Merlin mouthed, pulling his lover in for a quick hug before turning back to the action.

Before he could get far, Arthur had grabbed Merlin's wrist and yanked him in again. Then, he whispered darkly in his ear, "Have I told you I love you lately?"

"Hmmm," Merlin hummed. "Not enough." Arthur laughed and pushed Merlin away with a slap on the arse. Merlin looked back long enough to wink and catch a smile from his husband.

 

\-------------

 

There were entirely too many presents for a three year old. Sophia didn’t have the attention span to keep going after opening a present she wanted to play with, so Merlin had to keep nudging her along. And though Arthur was very assiduous about getting down the name for each gift, he hardly knew what to write for most of them.

Pink pony with brush, purple pony with wings, Frozen barbie doll, ....smaller Frozen doll? He tried his best to be descriptive and hoped Merlin would be able to figure it all out. Maybe he shouldn't have offered to help.

Writing furiously and guessing at items, he found very little time to actually watch Sophia as she opened her presents. She giggled and gasped and thanked everyone, with some occasional prompting, though, so he was sure she was enjoying herself. That was the point of all this mayhem, after all.

"Bah," Tala said helpfully and grabbed at his pen. Arthur deftly moved it out of her reach again and kissed her forehead.

"You're right, Tala. As always." He looked up at Merlin, standing beside their daughter and grinning like a fool, and he let himself smile too. This day wasn’t so bad, and it was all thanks to Merlin. He worked hard for their kids, and Arthur knew he would never be able to raise even one of these children without his husband. Merlin was the happy, easy-going relief they all needed. He always jumped head-first into new projects and he never held back. This stupid party was just a reflection of how fully Merlin loved and demonstrated that love.

A fierce feeling that was maybe love, or maybe pride, rose in Arthur, brought on by his contemplation of his husband. He watched Merlin bend over to help Sophia read the card on what looked like her last present and then grinned to himself, eager to be home with Merlin.

As Sophia finished with her presents, but just before conversations had started up again, Pascua announced loudly, "Ugh! I can't stop farting. I just farted 100 times!" Arthur raised a brow at his son while Sophia and some of the other toddlers began to giggle.

Pascua frowned, obviously upset about his condition, and said, "It's not funny," in a tone that threatened whining. Arthur sighed and knelt down to Pascua’s level, since they were standing almost side by side.

"You must be disgruntled," he began, grateful that the attention was drifting away from the two of them and guests were beginning to mingle again.

“What?” Pascua asked, baffled.

Arthur bit his lip for a moment. “Ah, frustrated. Are you unhappy?"

Pascua nodded. "I just keep farting, and Sophia is laughing at me!" he explained. Arthur nodded.

"Sometimes people laugh at us, Pascua, and it isn't very becoming. Instead of letting that bother you, though, you should just smile because you made them happy. People laugh at Daddy all the time, and he never lets it get to him."

"But that’s because Daddy tries to be funny," Pascua protested.

Arthur nodded calmly, though he certainly could empathize with his son. Maybe not about the farting, but about not liking to be laughed at. As a college professor, he had to deal with that somewhat regularly, but he was never comfortable with it. "That's true sometimes, but not always. Some things are just not worth getting angry over, Pascua. You just have to shake it off, all right?"

"Okay." Pascua shook his head, his hair swinging across his face. Then, he smiled, and Arthur knew his job was done. Pascua ran off toward the playground and Arthur shared a look with Tala.

"Your brother," he breathed. Then, he rose to his feet again and searched for Merlin.

 

\-------------

 

Merlin was saying goodbye to his old friends John, Alice, and their son, Little. They had been old friends of the family and Merlin had come to think of John as an uncle or cousin. The older man and his wife had not planned on having kids, but when Alice became pregnant at a late age, it just seemed natural, like they had been waiting all their lives for the little junior. Merlin waved distantly as they walked off towards the parking lot.

Just as Merlin turned to continue cleaning, he noticed Arthur. All the presents had been neatly packed up, with all the excess trash stuffed into the nearby trash can, the cake had been properly boxed up, and the only thing left to do was round up Sophia and Pascua. Merlin really was the luckiest man on the planet.

"Hey, Professor!" Merlin called as he marched up to his husband. "You are one sly devil, aren’t you?"

"I -" Arthur started, but Merlin held a finger against his lips.

Both smiled. Tala was still clinging to Arthur's side, and Merlin needed to show his appreciation in the only way he knew how. "Lance!" Merlin shouted to his friend, without looking away from Arthur. "Could you come take Tala for a moment?"

"Sure," Lance smiled, oblivious.

Once assured that their friend was no longer paying them any mind, Merlin pushed his lover behind a tree and pushed hard against his husband. "God, you are the best," Merlin moaned between kisses.

"Even though I spent most of the day sulking?"

Merlin gave him a devious smile, which Arthur returned with an equally delicious smile. "You are forgetting something, Professor. Your sulking is exactly what I love about you."

He pushed his way forward for another deep kiss, but Arthur pulled away. "Is that all?"

Oh predictable, insecure Arthur. "I love that you are kind, and thoughtful, and even though you hate rainbows and glitter you'd gladly put up with them to make me happy. I love every stubborn bit of you."

"Well, good." Arthur smiled.

Sometimes Merlin wondered if Arthur really was as unsure of himself as he let on, or if he just liked hearing Merlin offer up compliments. Either way, Merlin would happily oblige. His reserved, pretentious professor was nothing more than a squishable blond softie who fooled the rest of the world, but not Merlin. Only Merlin was allowed entrance to Arthur’s true self, and that was more special than anything Arthur could actually do for him.

Kissing his husband again, behind a tree, after a rather stressful - but successful - birthday for one of their three kids, Merlin realized the thing he was most grateful for in all the world was going through every tedious step of life with his forever partner, Arthur.

**Author's Note:**

> We wrote this one together, finally! Tamara wrote Merlin's scenes and Natasha wrote Arthur's scenes. We were inspired by a children's birthday party we attended, but we really like this universe, and we intend to write more, eventually. Please comment with ideas and opinions! Thanks. :)


End file.
